


Where I’m Meant to Be

by Sachiela



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cute, Fluff, M/M, Once Upon a Time zine, Rapunzel AU, Rapunzel!Keith, Zine piece, fairy tale, kosmo is a good boy, pining boys, prince!lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:26:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25076086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sachiela/pseuds/Sachiela
Summary: The window is still open, letting in the light summer breeze, and Lance cups his hands around his mouth, feeling absolutely foolish. "Child, let down your hair!" he calls as loud as he dares, in case the old woman is still lurking nearby.The rope drops again, inky black, and Lance touches it for only a moment before recoiling. Gods, that is hair. He shakes himself and climbs quickly to the top.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 81
Collections: Once Upon A Time: A Klance Fairy Tale Zine





	Where I’m Meant to Be

**Author's Note:**

> We're on a quest to Make America Gay Again on this 4th of July.
> 
> This is my piece for the Once Upon a Time Zine <https://klancefairytalezine.tumblr.com/>
> 
> Title is from _I See the Light_ from Tangled.

“C’mon, Lance, keep up!” Marco calls as he races his horse on up ahead, being the showoff. The others in their hunting party hurry to keep pace with him.

About to push his own ride into action as well, Lance pauses, something catching his eye in the distance. Debating between his options for only a moment, Lance decides to investigate. The lands are peaceful and he’ll be able to track down his family when he’s done. They’re not exactly _quiet_ for a hunting party.

The glint that caught his eye is a tower, the window catching the light as it’s opened. The stonework is completely covered in vines, blending it into the forest around it.

Movement at the base of the tower has him slipping off his horse and pulling her slowly back into the shadows. Something about the presence of the old woman makes him feel on edge. 

“Child, let down your hair!” the old woman calls, and a long rope of--is that hair?--drops from the window. The woman climbs up and disappears for only a few moments before she’s climbing back down and off into the woods. 

Even though his brothers are probably wondering where he’s at, Lance knows he can’t leave without investigating. He ties his horse’s lead to a low branch, making sure she’s able to reach the water of a small creek, before approaching the tower. There seems to be no sign of the old woman, thank goodness.

The window is still open, letting in the light summer breeze, and Lance cups his hands around his mouth, feeling absolutely foolish. “Child, let down your hair!” he calls as loud as he dares, in case the old woman is still lurking nearby.

The rope drops again, inky black, and Lance touches it for only a moment before recoiling. Gods, that is hair. He shakes himself and climbs quickly to the top.

Before he can crawl through the window, though, he’s roughly pulled inside and thrown to the floor, tangled in the rope of hair. He struggles for a moment to get free and then freezes when he feels a blade pressed to his neck and hears a growl from off to the side. He looks up carefully and is startled to see a pair of amethyst eyes glaring back at him. He’s never seen eyes so captivating.

“Why shouldn’t I just throw you back out the window?” the person asks, the same dark hair--oh, gods, it’s _their_ hair he just climbed--on top of their head. Next to them a large wolf growls, looking all too ready to rip Lance’s throat out if he makes the wrong move.

Lance lifts his hands slowly to show he’s unarmed. He has no quarrel here and this person has every right to be wary, considering he might have just broken into their home. “I...my apologies. I’m Lance. I saw the old woman leave and was curious as to who or what was up here. I don’t mean any harm. May I ask your name?”

The knife lowers enough that it’s not an immediate threat, but doesn’t fall away completely. “I’m...Keith. I’m Keith.”

Smiling, Lance relaxes a little. He would like to get out of this hair, but the blade is still out and the wolf is still tense, though the growling has stopped. “It’s nice to meet you, Keith.”

They exchange a few more pleasantries. Keith is awkward with them, but gradually relaxes as Lance continues talking enough for both of them. It’s not long before Keith’s put the knife away and Lance has removed the hair wrapped around him.

“So, you’ve really never left this tower before?” Lance asks carefully, tilting his head to catch Keith’s gaze. He couldn’t help asking, since Keith mentioned he’d never felt grass beneath his feet.

Keith shakes his head. “No, I...I’ve been here for as long as I can remember. Mother says it’s not safe for me out there.”

His tone hints that he doesn’t believe what his mother says and Lance can’t say that he blames him. He’s more than capable with that knife and his hair.

Lance glances outside and curses under his breath. The sun had moved much more than he’d expected. “I...I really need to go, I’m sorry. My brothers will be looking for me, if they haven’t informed my parents of my absence by now.” He stands and pauses, looking back to Keith. The other’s face looks as though he wants to ask Lance to stay and is holding himself back. “Come with me,” he offers.

“What?” Keith asks, drawing back in alarm.

“You can come with me. You don’t need to stay here if you don’t want to. You could stay with me and my family or you could go anywhere you wanted.”

To his credit, Keith actually takes the time to consider it before shaking his head. “No, I...I can’t. Mother will worry.” He moves to loop his hair over the hook by the window and tosses the long end of it outside. “You should go before they come looking for you over here.”

Though he doesn’t want to, Lance does as instructed. Just before he’s out the window, though, he turns back to Keith. “I’ll come back and visit in a day or two, as soon as I can get away from my studies.”

Keith gives him a sad smile, as if he doesn’t believe Lance. “Good-bye.”

*~*~*~*

It’s three days later when Lance can finally sneak away. He grabs a few books from the castle library on his way out, taking care to make sure none of his siblings or niblings try to follow him. 

He hasn’t been able to take his mind off Keith and it’s a relief to finally be going back to the tower. There’s something about him that intrigues him, more than any other person he’s met. He’d examine it more, but he really just wants to get back and see him instead. So he saddles up Blue and leaves before anyone realizes he’s gone.

It’s much easier to find the tower now that he’s looking for it and he’s arrived just in time to see the old woman leaving again. Did she honestly just leave Keith by himself all the time? No wonder he’d looked like he wanted Lance to stay. He ties up his horse in the same spot as before and walks up to the tower.

“Keith, let down your hair!” he calls, hoping this would let Keith know who’s here. The hair drops quickly and when he climbs up Keith is there to help him in instead of throwing him to the floor. 

“You came back,” Keith says, sounding surprised. 

Lance grins and adjusts his satchel, pulling out the books he’d grabbed. “Of course. I said I would. Also, here, I brought these for you. Ones got maps of the kingdom and surrounding countries, the other has some history, if you’re interested, and the last is, well, it’s a collection of stories.” He laughs. “I wasn’t sure what you’d prefer, so I thought some variety would help? If none of those are your thing, I can see about grabbing something different next time I visit?”

Keith looks through the books with a soft shy smile and Lance is not ready for that smile to be turned on him when the other hugs the books to his chest. “Thank you, Lance, really. These are perfect.”

“You’re welcome,” Lance manages to get out in a mostly steady voice, heart pounding. Gods, this _isn’t_ the time to start crushing on someone, no matter how cute. “I can bring a few more on my next visit anyway. And if you’ve finished with these, we can switch them out?”

“I’d like that,” Keith agrees, already sitting in the center of the room with the map book open in front of him, his wolf curled behind him. Taking a steadying breath, Lance joins him, pointing out areas to give some commentary and answering all of Keith’s questions. 

It’s not long before he needs to leave again and Keith seems even more upset than the first time, if that’s even possible. Lance promises he’ll return, though, and gives the back of Keith’s fingers a kiss, darting out immediately after to avoid Keith’s reaction.

*~*~*~*

He’s more nervous than excited for his third visit to the tower, even more distracted in his studies than he had been previously. He doesn’t know how Keith took the gesture and hopes the other isn’t mad at him or anything. But he’d feel too guilty avoiding him after promising to see him again and knowing just how starved of company Keith is. So he takes a deep breath, grabs three new books, and sneaks out in the same manner. He knows that his family can tell something’s up, but they haven’t started to pry. 

Yet.

The old lady is already walking away from the tower when Lance arrives and situates Blue, so he gives it a couple minutes before approaching the tower. They’ll need to set up some kind of signal for Lance to know if the old woman there or not.

Keith helps him in the same as last time, so he can’t be too upset, though he’s--oddly shy compared to before. At least at first. He’d read through the books Lance had brought previously multiple times in only a few days and is more than happy to trade them for new material. They chat for a bit, Keith more than eager to ask questions on parts of the history he wanted to know more about and Lance takes mental notes on the kind of information he’s looking for to make more catered selections next time. 

When Lance gets ready to leave again, Keith fidgets, looking even more nervous than before.

“Hey, are you okay? What’s wrong? I promise I’ll be back again soon, same as I have been, yeah?”

Keith nods. “I know. I just...wanted to…”

“Wanted to what?” Lance asks, curious. 

Letting out a huff, Keith shakes his head and squares his shoulders. For a moment, Lance is worried he’s going to be punched for what he did last time, but then Keith leans forward and kisses his cheek, barely a brush on his skin, before pulling away. His cheeks are the darkest color Lance has ever seen them. 

“See you soon, Lance,” he whispers.

Lance gapes, and then grins. He never expected such a reply for his affections. “See you soon, Keith.”

He falls asleep in his own bed, unable to stop smiling.

*~*~*~*

There’s no sign of the old woman at all the next time, but Keith has the little piece of glass hanging to the side of the window, signaling that it’s clear, so he climbs up quickly. 

Somehow, Keith is even more fidgety and Lance worries briefly that the old woman will be back soon. When he expresses this concern, Keith shakes his head. 

“No, she’s on a two day trip to pick up an ingredient I asked for my paints.” 

Sneaky. “So...what’s wrong, then?”

Keith takes a deep breath and balls his hands into fists at his sides. “I...can I come with you this time? I want to finally leave this tower. I want to see the world that you see.”

Once the words sink in, Lance nods excitedly. “Of course!” 

They pack up Keith’s few possessions and the books he’d borrowed and Lance climbs down, the wolf somehow getting to the bottom without assistance, Keith following soon after and falling the last few feet straight into Lance’s arms. 

“I already knew you were falling for me.”

Keith blushes and scrambles to his feet, though Lance sees his slight smile.

Lance’s family welcomes Keith with open arms, as he knew they would. He also expects the litany of teasing he gets from his siblings. 

*~*~*~*

Which only gets worse when they announce their engagement a year later.


End file.
